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U.S. Law, Legal Reasoning and Writing
Prof. Elizabeth Z. Stillman,
2 credits day; 2 credits evening.
This course is required for full-time international LL.M. students and Exchange Students.
Students with a civil law background are required to take the course. Students who have a
common law background may also enroll in the course with the prior approval of the professors.
The course is not open to J.D. students. The text for the course is Ellen S. Podor and John F.
Cooper, "Overview of U.S. Law" (Lexis Nexis 2009) The purpose of the course is to enable
international students to understand the different legal system and education that they will
encounter in their studies in the U.S. It will provide an overview of the U.S. Legal System,
including the structure of the federal courts, civil procedure, and the roles of the judges, lawyers
and other professionals in the common law adversarial system of legal procedure. In addition,
basic principles and terminology of common law subjects will be introduced and explored
through case law readings and legal research skills. Particular attention will be given to the use
of precedent, and methods of reading, analyzing and synthesizing case law, in the context of the
classroom. Individual classes will focus on note taking, briefing, outlining, problem solving,
paper writing and multiple choice exams for the purpose of study. The course will be graded
according to the satisfactory completion of exercises, research assignments and a comprehensive
research and writing problem during the semester.
Prerequisite: Restricted to non U. S. LLM Students and Exchange Students
Enrollment is limited: 20
Elective Course
LLM Course